The Boy and the Ho oh
by kathlaida-princess
Summary: SEQUEL TO THE GIRL AND THE LUGIA! A chaotic world. A boy with a quest. An ancient legend. New friends. Old acquaintances. The next part of the story. What to do when you are different?
1. Tough Beginnings

**THE BOY AND THE HO-OH**

**by kathlaida-princess**

**Summary: **SEQUEL TO THE GIRL AND THE LUGIA! A chaotic world. A boy with a quest. An ancient legend. New friends. Old acquaintances. The next part of the story. What to do when you are different?

**Disclaimer: **The Pokémon and Friends related characters and species don't belong to me. Just characters like Karen, Daniel, Flames and the new ones ^^

**Author's Notes: **Hello dearest readers! It's been quite some time, I hope life has been treating you well! I surely missed writing this, and I'm glad that this story is finally beginning! I planned it to have more of everything that characterized the first one, although I will add a slightly darker tone to it, and I will surely work to accomplish this mission. I hope to meet you all again in this :D This first chapter will only be a development of the sneak peek I gave you at the end of the first story, but I hope you enjoy it still!

I think it's enough for now ^^;

Let's start!

* * *

**CHAPTER 1**

**TOUGH BEGINNINGS**

Only three more years fell upon the Pokémon World since the girl and the Lugia found love after their troubled adventure, but those three years had surely brought dramatic and terrible changes with them, affecting the whole environment around them deeply. Change came to that world by crossing the same border the two young adults did before, but it all was so sudden that people didn't have the chance to realize that something had gone wrong, irreversibly wrong…

Three years ago, there was still peace, the characteristic harmony that soothingly walked across all regions, making that world such a desirable destination, but apparently that atmosphere was frail, for it shattered far too easily.

Out of the blue, sometime after Daniel and Karen settled down, strange tragedies, random disasters, disordered accidents began happening throughout the many regions. Laboratories were robbed, houses of important people were blown up, entire criminal organizations disappeared without a trace and a temple entirely made of tin was burned down in Ecruteak, killing several monks.

Police officers combined forces to find out the reasons of that sudden surge of unfortunate events, but all of them stood completely unrelated and there were no evidences, no clues to take them wherever.

But the truth is that the situation only got worse from then on, as several of the same portals that had brought our heroes there began popping out of their hideouts in an alarming rhythm, allowing many people from the cruel and materialistic Earth to spoil and stain the beauty of the Pokémon World, sucking all the harmony out of it and replacing it with sheer mayhem. Because what better place can there be besides Kanto to hunt down adult Pikachus and sell their corpses to terrestrial collectors? Where else could you find full-grown, flame-throwing dragons like Charizard so that terrestrial people could marvel with their preserved flame, their shiny scales? Pokémon existence alone was a major ticket for those invaders and their actions.

The Pokémon Wold's inhabitants fought this rapid-spreading disease in the beginning, using all means to shut down the portals and fill their prisons to the brim with all those they could capture, but the hunters were coming along with their money, outstanding amounts of money, and corruption quickly ensued. Soon, all leaders, no matter how hard they defended their cities, fauna and flora before, fell for that monetary temptation, some even forming partnerships with the foreigners, and things got worse than ever.

More criminal organizations appeared (Team Rocket among them), Pokémon trainers almost disappeared, for even they would sell their lifetime partners for the ridiculous amount of money. That made the entire league system shut down, which brought even more misery. But the most saddening part was that a frightening amount of Pokémon species was rearing extinction. There were still very few people who helped those in need and remained pure against the chaos, but their efforts didn't seem enough to save them…

One of the endangered species was, for obvious reasons, Charizard.

Which brings us to the present moment.

Two of the few surviving Charizards were running, faster than they ever imagined they could, putting all their energy in the run. One of them, the one who would turn out to be the male, was somewhat behind the other, constantly throwing quick glances over his wings and shoulders, as if making sure that something was still far away from them. Horror was written all over his exhausted face. They had been hiding from hunters effectively for the past two years and he knew that it would all be in vain then… But there was still something he could do…

He called the Charizard in front of him, the female, with a hurried roar and then handed a small, fragile object to her when she turned to him while running. The female widened her eyes at the object as she put it around her long neck, knowing exactly what the other would do. She didn't even have enough time to say one last good-bye when her mate stopped in his tracks and went back.

She whimpered slightly and felt empty inside all of a sudden, but she just couldn't stop. Her other arm was tenderly wrapped around her most valuable possession, and she now knew that her final purpose in life was to protect it at all cost.

She kept on running, powered by this new objective, but then she heard the sound of a gun and a long, painful growl cutting through the air. The hunters had finally reached him, and she wouldn't have much time…

She kept on running, but now she could almost hear their approaching footsteps and she knew she wouldn't last much longer like that… She stopped running near some trees and put the object she had been holding there, as well as her mate's last gift around it. She hid it the best she could and she now felt prepared to face her imminent end.

Pounding the ground hard with her paws, she took flight, the thing the couple had been avoiding to stop attracting attention to them. She flew to the opposite direction she had been running to and the hunters immediately saw her, a wicked grin twisting their faces. It was far too easy for them. With the same gun, they aimed for the Fire-type's abdomen and the bullet hit with deadly accuracy. They threw a dirty cackle into the air and ran to reach the dying body, not really waiting for the beautiful creature to let out her last breath before reaching for a very special type of PokéBall from their belongings.

"What about the egg?" one of the hunters asked, noticing the absence of the precious object.

"We have two full-grown Charizards, who cares about the egg?" one of the others replied while he pressed the button in the middle of said PokéBall to increase its size.

Without further ado, he threw it to the dragon's corpse, watching it engulfing it and imprisoning it quickly. The job was done then and they left, tossing more of their disgusting cackles into the air.

Some days later, in a small building nearby, a young woman decided to go for a walk, a big wicker basket hanging from her arm. She was one of the few who still had some faith in humanity and wasn't quite afraid of being attacked in the middle of the almost-devoid-of-life forest. Besides, the building she had just left was the orphanage she worked in, and the kids certainly deserved to be presented with some fresh berries.

However, the kind girl would return with quite more than just berries, as she noticed the object the female Charizard had hidden carefully sometime throughout the walk. Curiosity made her approach it and, after taking it in her arms, she saw it was an egg and, by the color and the peculiar marks all over it, an extremely rare Charmander egg. It stood there completely unharmed, with only its shell as its last haven of innocence against the terrible world enclosing it.

But there was something else, to the young woman's great surprise. A small, regular necklace hung around it, but with the most bizarre pendant: a single feather, extremely sturdy-looking, glistening softly with the seven colors that decorate the rainbows. She could not identify the source of said feather or why it was so close to the egg but, as the optimistic soul she was, she knew she had to do something for both. She would bring the egg and the feather back to the orphanage and she would make sure it would be properly taken care of.

She placed the egg carefully in the basket with the other gatherings and went back.

Little she knew she was carrying the salvation of her world with her.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER**

I know, it's very small, but that's just the first chapter (and believe me, it already has a lot of information in it!) ^^

The next one will be quite bigger, according to plans!

Still I hope it was interesting, and I hope to see you on the next one soon!

In the meantime, I still have the other Pokémon fic to update (To Where You Are).

See ya next chapter!

kathlaida-princess logging out…


	2. Adoption

**THE BOY AND THE HO-OH**

**by kathlaida-princess**

**Summary: **SEQUEL TO THE GIRL AND THE LUGIA! A chaotic world. A boy with a quest. An ancient legend. New friends. Old acquaintances. The next part of the story. What to do when you are different?

**Disclaimer: **The Pokémon and Friends related characters and species don't belong to me. Just characters like Karen, Daniel, Flames and the new ones ^^

**Author's Notes: **Hello dearest readers! Finally, an update for this! Sorry it took so long, but I really had many things to type and post first, and I did that the fastest I could :) Besides, this chapter did not want to be written! Anyway, here it is! I want to thank **pinayangel528**, **Teraunce**, **Red Riding Freak** and **Jolteon Master** for having reviewed this, and thanks so much **Pwnanator **for the continued support! Enjoy this second chapter as well! :D

* * *

**CHAPTER 2**

**ADOPTION**

Unfortunately, the madness of the Pokémon World had already had the chance to stain the village Karen chose to live in when she arrived there herself, affecting her, her beloved Pokémon friends, her human friends and her husband.

For starters, the village was no longer a village now. The richness of wild life there was like the scent of blood to a Crobat's nose, and the hunters were attracted to it with frightening lust, and began swarming it in hordes. The village grew exponentially with these new foreign inhabitants, consuming the forest, the mountains and the prairies in its expansion, becoming a metropolis enclosed in that small island, a cluttering of buildings surrounded by the ocean. People could not avoid them and most of them were secretly glad about it: it became a much more modern place to live and it was an authentic money generator. What was there to complain? Of course the beacon that guided these Venomoths progressively diminished as a consequence, but by then it was already too late to change it. Things had already gone irreversibly wrong…

Remember Jack's farm, with the prancing Ponytas and the lazy Miltanks? Or the forest where Karen and Daniel were once chased by Beedrills? Or even the mountain where Karen would find the Ursarings to sketch? All those fell prey to the strangers' invasion and to the inhabitants' need to satisfy their hunger.

The same happened with the peaceful streets and the happy lonely beaches, the once clear sky and the unworried rural life. All that once upon a time whispered silence, seemed so empty but thrived with so much life, now screamed at the top of its polluted lungs a desperate cry of help, unheard or ignored, dying…

Karen would never sketch the slumbering bears or walk with Daniel around the gigantic trees again, Joey would never again pull a prank involving furious bees nor would Phoebe's plants ever find enough peace in her songs to relive their stress… All that was long gone…

But, fortunately, in every dark cloud always remains a silver lining, and in that pitch black city, two shining platinum houses still stood latched onto their old principles, their old reality, and they would not let go of it that easily…

One of those houses was Marion's. Still a close friend of Karen's, she now dedicated her time to rescue all the Pokémon she could from the surrounding ghouls' clutches and harbored them in her house, opening a rare Pokémon shelter (because, at some point, practically all Pokémon had become rare or seriously endangered) after struggling so much to get the permission for doing so. She had been born in that island, that was so flourishing in its isolation, she had grown on it and it was the only home she had truly had: even if the times were changing (and the involved spaces as well as a consequence), she wouldn't give up trying to save it, even if her lone efforts seemed so futile…

The other house, of course, was Karen and Daniel's, always in company of the many Pokémon also part of the family. The invasion still stole most of the beach away from their enjoyment and made both Karen and Daniel be all the more careful with the Pokémon (Pokémon theft was a very common occurrence, and it would be more devastating if it could be also considered a massive friend disappearance), but they fortunately always found a way to escape the most unpleasant problems and did their part helping Marion.

Mostly good things happened to them after Daniel regained his human form though: the at-last-settled couple chose to remain there and got married, the ex-Lugia let his family know that he had found Karen after all those years and that they had found their place together away from the Earth they knew before, both their choices were eventually accepted and the Pokémon even began making their family grow in numbers…

Chandler and Monica's relationship, which was finally made public a few days after it was decided Daniel would stay with them (although it really never was an actual secret), gave birth to a baby girl Mareep they ended up calling Alaina, because the Typhlosion wanted a better memory for the name other than the intimidating Feraligatr he had to face on their last adventure. Fortunately, Alaina (who still resembled an overgrown ball of absurdly fluffed yarn) was doing an impressive job at that, becoming the complete opposite of the giant reptile. With several flame-like marks dancing across her voluptuous fur, her strangely closed eyes smiling the same curve of her mouth and bright tail swaying joyfully as she moved, she filled the house, that rare haven of light in a world condemned, with more dreams, hope and love for the future that anyone would expect, even if she was still so little and innocent, even before she too learned to talk. But while Monica made a point to show how disappointed she was to see her daughter not inheriting her "healthy" competitive spirit, Chandler was secretly proud of her little baby, and of how smart he knew she would be in the future. The others merely wondered how, in fact, the Mareep did not get the mentioned scary trait from her mother… Ah well…

Joey and Phoebe started a relationship on their own too. The Furret, noticing that the female Pokémon population had been decreasing drastically over the years and that the ones that remained had no real interest in his adorable charms, turned to the one friend that had always accompanied him in the most arduous tribulations, and, unsurprisingly, the Wigglytuff was there to look after him and love him. I believe there is no disagreement when I say that their personalities flawlessly match. Ironically, their baby, an oddly striped Igglybuff called Joey (the Furret himself wanted to pass on "his family name"), showed an unnatural interest for all subjects intellectual and deep ever since he learnt to think, and he was the first of that generation to learn to talk, even if he was the last born.

At last, Ross and Rachel solved their divergences (even though a life surrounded by chaos but no adventures did take its toll on them every now and then) and started their own family by having the Pidgeot laying two twin eggs, which hatched into Ben and Emma. Well, these two Pidgeys, both of them snow-white and bearing a Togepi-like mark on their foreheads (Emma a red one and Ben a blue one), had their golden days when they still couldn't stand on their little legs and had to remain huddled against their overprotective mother, because ever since the moment they decided to run off and explore the house, they turned out to be the most impish, mischievous, energetic and playful Pokémon to have crossed that ground, especially when it came to the small Togetic that was their father, who, unfortunately, had not enough size to control the little rascals that were his children… The only hope Ross had was that Ben and Emma would eventually grow calmer with the years, and would, of course, gain the same academic curiosity their "cousin" Joey (Jr.) had.

Seeing their house invaded with so many children, the 21-year-old married couple Karen and Daniel wanted to share their joy as well by having their own babies (and they even started buying all the furniture such change would oblige), but not everything seemed to go according to their plans… It was true the influence the outside world had on them was, fortunately, minimal, but the stress just building up there, fruit of endless worries and fear that one day all of their friends would be taken away with no further explanation, had managed to infiltrate through their protective walls and affect them in their most intimate aspect.

Because of that and after a year and a half of trying, Daniel and Karen were told by a doctor that they were unable to have children together by natural means (or, at least, such thing would be highly improbable), but not all hope was lost. There were several treatments they could attempt that would, hopefully, solve their problem, but, of course, there was always the alternative of adoption…

Upon hearing about all available options, the simpler procedures, the tricky operations and the meticulous treatments with Petri dishes and highly accurate equipment, neither Karen nor Daniel had any doubts of what they would do now… Especially, considering the world they were living on at the time.

* * *

The owner, director and manager of the orphanage (a middle-aged woman who had hardened the most she could to take a stand against the raging world and keep the children trusted to her safe) was at the same time excited and worried when one of her workers returned with an extra burden inside her berry basket, the oh-so-precious Charmander egg.

Struggling with the knowledge that this was probably the last one of its species (considering how all media alerted to the awaited disappearance of the fire-type's species evolutionary line), so it needed protection, and with the reality that she would surely jeopardize her children due to the many merciless hunters, so she really couldn't do anything about it, the woman eventually chose to harbor the fragile being inside the orphanage (of course, with the help of the many pleas from the woman that had found the egg in the first place). She just hoped she would not regret that decision in the future…

They hid it in a vacant room of the facilities, keeping it a secret from everyone, even from the children and most of the other workers (and specially from the few people that actually came to adopt) and, under their meticulous care, the egg eventually hatched into a tiny male Charmander, no different from any they had seen before. The woman that had found him noticed that the feather necklace was now amidst the remains of the egg and, deciding that the baby probably shouldn't be separated from that last gift, she placed it around the lizard's small neck, who breathed contently and drifted to sleep.

Now that he was alive, the women dedicated extra care to him. Non-flammable sheets and Pokémon food had to be smuggled inside to keep him safe and satisfied, he needed cuddling and assuring whispers not to cry and start missing his parents, he needed all the help he could get from them, because even then he already had the mark in himself that he'd live a full yet extremely complicated life… A complicated life that would make theirs easier.

---

As soon as they heard the door click from the inside and realized Daniel and Karen had just arrived, all the six grown up Pokémon rushed to the hall to greet them, almost running each other over and losing the right of being called "grown ups".

Joey, digging his way to the front of the small crowd, had hope in his eyes as he asked, "So? How did it go?"

But the expression upon Daniel's face was one of sadness, even if he was smiling. He had his hand reassuringly rubbing his wife's back when he beckoned all of them to go sit down and talk in the living room. Joey and the others' mood immediately dropped.

"Well…" the ex-Lugia began, sitting next to Karen, "we have both good and bad news…"

"I know how this will go…" Ross interrupted, chubby arms folded against his round belly. "There is no good news. The good news is always the only good thing the bad news couldn't destroy…"

But that earned him an angry elbow colliding with him from Monica. Still, Daniel carried on, "Don't worry, Ross, it's not exactly like that. It's true me and Karen cannot have children together," that sentence was received by an outraged array of distressed interjections, "BUT there is a great solution for it that we are willing to try…"

"Are you stealing a child?" Phoebe ventured, already excited, "We can help you with that, I can even go find some friends for that…"

"No, silly…" this time it was Karen to speak, after chuckling. "We thought about it for a while and we made our decision. We're going to adopt a baby."

All of them stared for a while before realizing what it meant: another new member would be added to the family soon! And if it was a chosen one and not a random one, the better!

"Those really are great news!" Rachel exclaimed, snuggling against her trainer and Daniel and almost tearing up, "A new baby!"

The blonde woman nodded, "Exactly. We thought you'd like that too. We've already taken care of all paperwork and we can go visit the orphanage already. I'm even a bit nervous…"

"Don't be, it will all be fine…" Daniel replied, a peck to her forehead. Then, he faced the rest of them, the last traces of sadness now long gone from his eyes and lips, "Of course it would be better if we could actually have babies on our own, but I'm quite excited about this too… Now, we will be going to the orphanage, and bring you all your new nephew…"

"Or niece!" Rachel yelled.

"Or niece…" Daniel conceded. "You take care while we're gone, okay?"

"Karen…" Chandler's voice was heard from the furthest seat. "Take me with you, who knows if you'll need protection…"

The young woman faced her first companion and nodded in agreement. She could not deny the Typhlosion that friendly care. "Of course, dear friend…" His expression lit up. Despite always remaining his sometimes cruel and sarcastic self, Chandler was a safety for life, and the couple knew they could trust him the most then.

"Then I want to go too!" Monica protested. "Someone needs to keep an eye on him!"

Daniel was already fearing that they all would follow the trend, but he was quick to cut it by the root, "Okay, you can come too, but no one else! It'll be a better surprise if you're all waiting here, won't it?"

And the others remained silent.

It didn't take long until they were ready to leave again. Chandler was still a bit disappointed that the Ampharos, despite being his love, had to go and steal his spotlight, but two guards were surely better than just one, especially when it came to Karen's Poké-gang. Monica was giving several recommendations to Rachel to take care of Alaina, ignoring that she probably had more than enough work with Ben and Emma alone, but what can one do against it?

The two humans were already long ago ready to leave when their guards arrived, and the four of them waved the others goodbye before crossing the doors and heading to the orphanage across the busy and dangerously hungry streets, Karen making sure she had her best friends under constant attention throughout the entire journey. After all, they ended up guarding each other…

The nearest orphanage was right in the island, in the outskirts of the city (which were almost the outskirts of the island itself), a small house in the middle of a very familiar forest. Fortunately, they arrived there with no complications and a growing excitement and, as soon as they were invited inside by the very woman that had found the Charmander egg, that same excitement saw itself leap off charts.

In the main room of the building, many children were playing or drawing in an environment that Karen never associated with orphanages (people usually had the worst opinions on them) and the two Pokémon were immediately drawn to them, observing them close and rendering several giggles and ecstatic reactions from them.

While they were all talking, despite (of course) still paying attention to the possible future parents' attributes, the two women who had been responsible for the baby Charmander also noticed that Monica and Chandler had been trained quite peculiarly by them, in a way that was a lot less like training and a lot more like befriending actual humans. While analyzing Karen and Daniel, the two women had the certain feeling that they could share with them their secret… After all, the particular baby they had in mind would soon become too much for them to handle on their own, and they needed to find someone suitable to look after him.

The director of the orphanage seemed to recognize Karen from somewhere else too and, determined to make these next questions her last, she asked, "Mrs. Karen, are you in any way related to the rare Pokémon shelter in town? Because I couldn't help but notice that you brought very rare ones along with you today…"

"Well…" the blonde began, "Monica and Chandler are my friends from very long ago. They've always been my Pokémon and my companions. And yes, Marion is practically my neighbor and both me and my husband often help her in her noble cause."

Right answer, of course.

The woman nodded happily and then beckoned to the couple to follow her to a room in the back. The other two were somewhat intrigued with the gesture.

"You see, Mr. Daniel, Mrs. Karen," the director spoke, "one of my workers found something very extraordinary while she was outside. We have been hiding it in fear that something unpleasant would befall this orphanage, but now I believe you two are our solution…."

Both Daniel and Karen were quite confused. How did any of that conversation relate with adoption? But they were unable to question it because suddenly they were inside a different room and facing a small cradle, and the creature inside it made both their breaths halt for an instant.

"That's… that's a…" Karen begun, in aftershock.

"Yes, it is a baby Charmander. A baby boy Charmander, to be more exact," the director completed. "He came here when he was just an egg, but now we don't know where to turn to keep his safety… You surely know how critical their situation is…"

"Of course," Daniel replied, reaching out a hand to caress the sleeping lizard. The baby leaned slightly to his touch and the young man felt suddenly extremely warm and safe, as if such emotions had been drawn from the Fire-type.

"Well, my request for you is very simple, but will need a much pondered answer. I have found a way to protect his existence from anything that can threaten him, an even better way than your friend's shelter. I need someone to adopt him as their son. And I was wondering if you could do it."

Both their eyes turned to the woman.

"Wow…" was Karen's reaction. "Is that even possible?"

"It is. If a being can be considered intelligent, at least the equivalent to a human, it can be adopted. Your Pokémon friends can talk. All Pokémon have in them such potential. So, you can adopt the baby Charmander. But that's my next question: are you ready to treat this baby as you would your own child?"

As Daniel carried on stroking the baby, the couple considered the question thoughtfully. Karen had lived there longer than her husband, long enough for the sudden change in the environment to mark her profoundly. Both of them were actually dedicated to Marion's cause, both of them wanted to protect their friends at all cost, and it sickened them to see how trainers had become so ruthless, how those beautiful values had all gone away with the winds of change…

Daniel and Karen exchanged looks. When they first stepped inside the building, they had wanted to return with a normal child, a human child. But, now faced with this extraordinary choice and opportunity, they were growing willing to change their minds…

"You loved me when I was a Lugia…" Daniel whispered to his wife. "You protected me and you'll always protect all of them too…" his attention turned to the small Charmander again. "I think we can both love him too. As our baby."

Of course Karen had no doubt of it. She too joined her husband at comforting the infant, but her hand discovered the necklace and the feather attached to it, that had been hiding beneath the baby. The couple, armed with a knowledge that came from the Pokémon games and series available where they lived before, immediately recognized the seven colors playing there as a Ho-oh's feather, but they weren't reminded of the folklore associated to it, or the meaning of it being now latched onto this creature. For the time being, they let it pass by, but they'd think about it later.

Their decision was final.

"We are ready," the two of them replied. And it was true.

And the other woman knew it was true as well, as she smiled and nodded.

The next minutes were spent filling a stash of paperwork, legalizing the baby Charmander as their real child, protected from all harm that would befall him if he was still considered just a Pokémon. To Karen and Daniel, he was no longer a Charmander, he was a human, like them.

The fore-mentioned worker had been wrapping the slumbering lizard around a very large blanket to protect him from prying eyes when they'd return home. Monica and Chandler had been called to join them and were overexcited with the turn of events. "Just wait until the others know this!!" was their favorite sentence there.

The last thing to decide was the child's name, a name that would seal the contract.

It didn't take long to find a suitable (even if not the prettiest) one.

Dayton. Sunny and bright.

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER**

Oofff! Finally done!

Again, sorry it took so long, this was a pain to write!

The next one will (please!) come sooner!

Hope you enjoyed, nonetheless.

kathlaida-princess logging out…


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